Analysis Of Judith Jarvis Thompson's Article: A Defense Of Abortion

Improved Essays
Philosophy is the application of ethical approaches to issues, controversies, theories, and ideas. It is in one’s nature to seek answers to questions which are asked. It is also in one’s nature to question and decide if an idea or ideal is right or wrong, but in the case of ethics; permissible or impermissible. In this text, we are going to use these terms as acceptable or permitted and vice-versa. In this essay, we will be analyzing the article, “A Defense of Abortion” by philosopher, Judith Jarvis Thompson. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to give an explanation on which normative theory works in favor with her article and view some actions from a consequentialist utilitarian perspective. Her thesis is: Abortion is sometimes, but not …show more content…
The first will be the violinist and other person, and her text, the pronoun “you” is representing the mother, the violinist is the fetus, and unplugging is the act of abortion. Per the textbook, “Everyone has a right to life, so the unborn person has a right to life” (Page.178). The analogy involves a third party telling you that it if you don’t stay connected to the famous violinist’s kidneys, then he will die. They tell you, “yes, we kidnapped you, but your kidneys need to stay connected to the violinist for him to live.” It is up to you to stay connected and help the violinist survive, or you can say, “nope, unplug me.” Thompson makes clear that you are not facing danger, but the musician is. It also made clear that you can choose to stay plugged in, and that it is a supererogatory act in doing so. From a utilitarian perspective, the staying connected can be an appropriate act, because it is for the greater good, all the while keeping the violinist’s life in mind. The act would be described as: It is being done for the greater good, because if I do unplug myself then I am not a good person. I am giving life to a person thus I am a good person. Also, him being a famous violinist he will be able to provide comfort by using his music and his talent for other people. Likewise, would be described for the mother, fetus, and abortion. If the mother lets the fetus live in her body, then she is doing it for the greater good of the fetus. If the fetus is aborted, then it is committing an act of greater good for the mother. This metaphor is an example of when abortion is permissible. To continue, another permissible example would be the people seeds correspondence. In this analogy, the seed is conception (egg), the mesh screen is contraception or protection, and the open window is the act of having sex, regardless of knowing the consequences. The living place or in

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Phil 3 Dakota Wensley Phil 3 The purpose of this paper is to analyze Judith Jarvis Thompson’s argument for the permissibility of abortion in the cases of consensual sex when contraception was used. This paper will be divided into four parts. I am going to present Thompson’s argument and analogy and present the premises and conclusion, I will then put forth the best argument against Thompson’s argument and compare the two on the basis of logic and truth, next I will attempt to speak for Thompson and try to rebuttal on her behalf, and finally I will decide which argument is better and provide reasons for my decisions.…

    • 1526 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A mother does not have many options when it comes to giving herself an abortion so we have to look at what a third party can do. Thompson asks us to imagine being in a very tiny house with a rapidly growing child. As the child begins to grow you smoosh closer and closer against the wall until you are finally crushed to death, whereas the child will be fine. Both you and the child are innocent and the child is unintentionally causing you harm. Now, this is what makes it hard for a bystander to help because they are unable to choose between your life and the child’s life.…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In the essay “Why Abortion is Immoral,” philosopher Don Marquis uses utilitarian principles to argue that “abortion is, except in rare cases, seriously immoral… [and] in the same category as killing an innocent human being” (223). However, he deliberately avoids relating his thesis to abortion in the specific contexts of rape, maternal death, and severe postpartum health complications. Thus, in my analysis of his claim, I plan on adopting Marquis’ utilitarian perspective to evaluate the permissibility of abortion in regard to these delicate scenarios. I will begin my paper by giving a brief summary of “Why Abortion is Immoral.”…

    • 1937 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When you wake up you are told that the violinist has an ailment, which will kill him unless he is allowed to share your kidneys for a nine-month period. During this time the violinist will be unconscious and you are required to stay in bed with him. After the nine-month period the violinist will be completely cured, given that you had cooperated and you can detach yourself from him. This scenario is meant to show that even if you claim that a fetus has the full moral rights of a human being, particularly the right to life, abortion is still morally permissible, on occasion, and for reasons other than to save the woman’s life. I do believe that Thomson succeeds in proving her point that a woman can get an abortion for other reasons than just to save her life.…

    • 1869 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abortion is wrong, but no one should be judged for the actions and/or decisions they make. Every human being that breathes, walks, and thinks, can decide what to do with their body. In this paper I agree with Don Marquis’s view of abortion. Abortion is wrong because it deprives the fetus from its future. In other words, abortion is wrong because killing a future child stops it from growing and making a difference to their lives.…

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Don Marquis Abortion

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Marquis defends the immorality of abortion by stating that abortion robs the fetus of a future like ours without defining what a future like ours entails. Each individual is different and has is destined to a future that is unique from anyone else ’s. There is no correct way to generalize every individual’s future. In addition, every individual is not destined to have a bright future ahead of them filled with positive activities and experiences.…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abortion There are many different views on abortion weather it is right or wrong. Many people have their opinions and views on this topic. Throughout this paper, I will deconstruct Mary Anne Warren 's view on abortion, dealing with her thoughts on the moral and legal status of abortion. As well as Don Marquis argument that abortion is wrong, because in my opinion abortion is wrong but it depends on the situation which well be discussed during this essay. Though the question is abortion right or wrong is very contrasting, with all the aspects that it deals with, you have to decide is, or is it not wrong.…

    • 1076 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Brilliant Essays

    She suggests that because a pregnancy is such a great sacrifice, that, while women should carry a child to term after becoming pregnant, we cannot require them to do so. This argument also requires that the fetus’ right to life is subject to the mother’s whim and does not carry as much weight as the first two arguments. Thomson concludes the article by saying that she is not attempting to delineate the circumstances in which a pregnancy might be morally permissible and those in which it isn’t, but rather to make it clear that even if we consider a fetus to be a person, that abortion can still be morally permissible. This weakens her argument a great deal, instead of providing a proscriptive criterion to base the morality of abortion on, she simply provides what may be a series of fringe cases to establish that while abortion is normally wrong, it isn’t always so. Thomson’s argument on abortion is fundamentally deontological.…

    • 1880 Words
    • 8 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited
    Brilliant Essays
  • Great Essays

    There are few things in this world that will strike more fear into the heart of a woman—or a man, for that matter—than an unplanned pregnancy. Now the woman faces a choice: does she carry the fetus to term, or does she terminate the pregnancy? There are countless reasons for both options, such as the mother’s health, the health of the fetus, religious views, and how the mother was brought up. There are some instances in which a mother could feel that she could not rely on her family for support, such as cases of rape and incest. In this paper, I will take a categorical approach to show you how abortion can be ethical.…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Directly killing an innocent person is murder. Murder is morally impermissible. Therefore, killing the fetus is morally impermissible” in support of the Extreme View. Later she then claims that this Extreme View also fails, because of the Famous Violinist Thought experiment.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Bailey Washington Mr. Reynolds Philosophy MWF 8:30 1 December 2016 Thomson vs. Hursthouse In this paper I will be comparing and contrasting Thomsons A Defense of Abortion and Hursthouses Virtue Theory and Abortions. Also in my paper I will be sharing my opinion on abortion and which view I agree with.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This analogy is challenging the more extreme view held by those in opposition to abortion. This view finds abortion “impermissible even to save the mother’s life.” Imagine a woman has become pregnant and in the same day learns of a newly developed heart disease that will kill her if she carries her baby to term. The baby has a right to life, but so does the woman. Thomson brings up the argument most familiar.…

    • 1953 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The most intricate writers on the subject of abortion all believe that whether or not abortion is morally permissible stands or falls on whether or not a fetus is the sort of being whose life it is seriously wrong to end. The purpose of this paper isn’t to address the greater ethics of abortion such as abortion before implantation or abortion when the life of a woman is threatened by a pregnancy; rather I seek to address the general argument for the claim that the overwhelming majority of deliberate abortions are seriously immoral. I which to investigate further Don Marquis claim that I something is living its wrong to kill it. If this were true people that are dying from disease would believe that they loss a future and all the experiences that they would have had. The second one is that killing alone is wrong because it automatically takes away the greatest loss, which is their life.…

    • 1150 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Abortion is the act of purposely killing a human fetus. This action is legal in the United States of America due to the differing opinions regarding it. In this essay, I will discuss whether, or not abortion is morally permissible. If Abortion is in fact morally permissible, is it permissible in all or just some situations? I will argue that abortion is only morally correct in cases of a fetus having a severe genetic disorder and when the mother’s life is in danger.…

    • 2014 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ethics is a systematic and critical analysis of morality, of the moral factors that guide human conduct in a particular society or practice and it plays a significant role in today’s society (Office of Director General, 2005). Different types of ethics can be applied to various issues to decide whether it is morally right or wrong. The focus of this report will be the ethical issue of abortion. The issue of abortion is an ongoing debate asking whether it is morally right to terminate a pregnancy; some think abortion is always wrong; whereas, others think that there is a range of circumstance in which abortion is morally acceptable. The issue will be considered from the philosophical framework of Situation Ethics.…

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays